It has definitely been the best decision I have ever made to study abroad. Ireland has opened up so many new doors for me; being that connections I have made to further my career or just friendships that will last a lifetime. I was nervous to travel abroad at first, like many students are, and I found myself uncomfortable with the introvert I had become over the years. I used to be so busy at home in Raleigh with work, school, SUM Club, and other extracurricular activities that I would enjoy my time alone. But here in Cork, I have so much more free time to travel and get to know the people around me and I’ve come to truly love and appreciate that freedom.
The courses that I’m taking are vastly different to NC State’s. We have no homework, maybe 1-2 tests, and the classes are comprised of more students, around 60-100, and are less engaging. This basically means more studying and time spent teaching myself—which are my least favorite things to do.
I’m taking Mathematical Analysis I, Fourier Methods —which is turning out to be more challenging than I first thought—, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Travel Writing. All of these courses are required for me to complete my BS in Mathematics and minor in Creative Writing. However, many students traveling from the US and abroad had the opportunity to partake in elective courses ranging from Archeology to Gaelic. Although I would have really enjoyed taking classes such as those, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to take the minimum amount of credits my final semester and focus on traveling.
Math has always been my passion, even in times when I’m participating in a difficult course and it seems like I’ll never understand what’s actually going on, I’ve always loved the challenges it’s given me. It’s super corny to say, but to me math is the language of the universe. I also study creative writing in university, and I have so far found that no combination of words can capture what math truly means to me. It’s more of a feeling—completing a complex proof or finally getting the correct answer on probability homework and actually understanding the steps it took to get it—there will never be anything like the satisfaction that math gives me.
I find that wherever I go there are people that feel the same way about math as I do. There are times when you just want to quit and focus on a degree in some other less demanding subject, but for me it’s about perseverance and proving to myself that I can do more than I think I am capable of.
Here in Ireland, I have befriended graduate students studying abroad, and it’s comforting to see that they struggle in the same classes and excel in the same areas as I do. Math is universal even when your native language is not.
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